Iowa Attorney General Suing US Department of Education

DES MOINES, Iowa -- The Iowa Attorney General's Office is taking the US Secretary of Education to court and accusing her of breaking the law and putting American students at risk for fraud.

This week Attorney General Tom Miller announced Iowa is joining other states in a lawsuit against the US Department of Education and Secretary DeVos. According the to the lawsuit the DOE is illegally ignorning the "gainful employment rule" that is meant to stop for-profit schools from defrauding students.

The rule requires a college to prove that it is actually training kids and and not overcharging them for their training. The school must provide documentation that it is not only providing adequate training for a student to get a job but the price charged for a student's education must not exceed their ability to repay their loans.

"Now the Department of Education is saying we're just going to keep on delaying this rule, we're not going to implement it," says Deputy Attorney General Nathan Blake, "Students will continue going to these programs that are not preparing them, they're very expensive. They come out with a degree, maybe they get a job, maybe not. But either way they're not able to pay off their debt."

Blake says there is no basis for delaying implementation of the rule. It has been challenged in court before but has always been upheld as being legal. Blake says at least 800 schools are violating the rule right now but aren't being held accountable due to this delay.